Process for making mixed oil gas and water gas



Nov. 6, 1934. l 1 H. G. TERZIAN v 1,980,115

PROCESS FOR MAKING MTXFD OTL GAS AND WATER GAS Filed Sept. 3, 1929 Patented Nov. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PROCESS FOR MAKING MIXED OIL GAS AND WATER GAS Harutyun G. Terzian, Philadelphia, Pa., assigner to The United Gas Improvement Company,

Philadelphia, Vania Pa., a corporation of Pennsyl- The present invention relates to the manufacture of hydrocarbon gas and water gas.

More particularly it relates to the method of manufacture of such gas wherein liquid hydrocarbons are vaporized in a chamber previously heated by the blast gases from an ignited fuel bed, and the hydrocarbon vapors and gas or gas alone are passed through the ignited fuel bed and cracked therein with the deposition of the excess carbon within the fuel bed and the production of reformed hydrocarbon gas and the deposited carbon utilized in the production of Water gas by air and steam blasting. The air blasting, by burning some of the deposited carbon, generates sulcient heat for the cracking of the hydrocarbons and for the reaction between the remaining deposited carbon and the steam to form water gas.

The object of the present invention is to provide improvements in the above method of manufacture whereby a better balance of temperature conditions may be maintained throughout the apparatus employed.

The principal usefulness of the methods of the invention lies in the utilization of large quanti-I ties of liquid hydrocarbons and the production of a gas, the components of .which are derived preponderantly from the hydrocarbons rather than from the steam and fuel. This is in contradistinction to 'ordinary carburetted water gas which is preponderantly water gas, only approximately 20% being derived from the carburetting oil.

In the utilization of large quantities of hydrocarbon liquids and the production of a low specific gravity gas of the above character, large quantities of carbon are deposited in the fuel bed.

This carbon must be progressively consumed in order to maintain the fuel bed in a free and open condition. It can be consumed by regulated air facture of low gravity gas, however, I have found that it is difcult to consume the deposited carbon without producing more blue water gas or more air blast gases than are desired. If the production of blue water gas is restricted to the quantity desired in the finished gas, the air blast required to consume the residue of the carbon results in a higher fuel bed temperature than is desirable for cracking the hydrocarbons. If the air blast is restricted to that required to produce the proper fuel bed conditions and blue water gas is produced in sufficient quantity to consume the deposited carbon, there is a deciency of heat for vaporizing the liquid hydrocarbons in the chamber heated by the blast gases, unless the gas blasting and steaming the fuel bed. In the manuproduced is only moderately low in specic gravity.

I have found that the desired balance may be secured by limiting the air blast and producing more blue water gas than is required in the finished gas, and burning the excess blue water gas in the oil vaporizing chamber to supply the deficiency of heat there. This excess blue water gas may be produced by passing steam through the fuel bed simultaneously with the air blast, or a portion of the blue water gas produced in a separate steaming step may be so utilized.

The invention will be further described in connection with the attached drawing which forms a part of this specification and which shows a partial side elevation and partial vertical cross section of ,apparatus similar to a carburetted water gas in which the invention may be performed.

Referring to the drawing,

1 is a water gas generator, 2 a vessel similar to 75 a carburetter, and 3 a vessel similar to a superheater of a carburetted water gas set; 4 and 5 are wash boxes.

The generator is provided with the fuel bed 6 of coke, coal or like material and is further provided with the air blast supply means 7, and the steam supply means 8, for air blasting and steaming the fuel bed upwardly. The fuel bed may be downwardly steamed by steam supplied as at 9 or 10.v 1

The connection 11 provided with the valve 12 leads from the generator above the 4fuel bed to the vessel 2. The connection 13- provided with the valve 14 leads from the generator below the fuel bed to the vessel 2. Connection 15 provided 90 with valve 16 and connection 1'7 provided with valve 18 are gas offtakes leading to the wash box 5. 19 is the offtake from the Wash boxvto a place of storage not shown.

'I'he vessel 2 is provided with the secondary 95 air supply means 20 and with the connection 21 leading to vessel 3. Vessel 3 is provided with the stack valve 22 and with the connection 23 provided with valve 24 leading to wash box 4. 25 is the offtake from wash box 4 to storage. 100

Vessel 3 is further provided with the oil supply means 26, and vessel 2 may be provided with oil supply means 27.

In operation, assuming the fuel bed to be ignited and heat stored therein and in the vessels 105 2 and 3 by a previous air blasting operation, oil is admitted to vessel 3, vaporized and lightly cracked to fixed oil gas in vessels 3 and 2 and then passed up or down or alternately up and down through the fuel ned, being cracked therein to reformed no vet gas of lower caloric power and specic gravity. The excess carbon released by the cracking is deposited within-the fuel bed, the reformed gas passes to the wash box 5 and thence to storage.

Duringthis operation valves 22 and 24 are closed and valves 12, 14, 16 and 18 are open or closed, depending on the direction of passage through the fuel bed.

When the temperature of the vessels 3 and 2 a'nd the fuel bed have been reduced to such a degree as to make it undesirable to continue the reforming operation, the admission of oil is terminated; and the fuel bed is blasted with air supplied at 7,-the resultant blast gases being burned in vessels 2 and 3 with air supplied at 20. During this operation, valves 12 and 22 are open.

Valve 14 is closed. Valves 16, 18 and 24 may be open or closed.

The object ofthe air blasting step is to store heat in the fuel bed and in vessels 2 and 3, utilizing as fuel a portion of the deposited carbon, which must be consumed to keep the fuel bed free and open.

During the air blasting operation some steam may be admitted to the fuel bed at 8 and the resultant water gas burned with the blast gases in vessels 2 and 3.

This passage cf steam through the fuel bed consumes additional deposited carbon, prevents the temperature of the fuel bed from becoming too` high, and the combustion of the resultant water gas furnishes additional heat to vessels 2 and 3.

After the air 'blasting operation steam alone is passed through the fuel bed either up or down, or alternately up and down, to further consume the deposited carbon, in the production of water gas and reduce the temperature of the fuel bed, for the succeeding oil gas reforming step. In the Water gas run valve 22 is closed. The setting of valves 12, 14, 16, 18 and 24 depends on whether the run is up with steam supplied at 8, and if up, Whether the water gas is led to wash box 4 or 5, or whether it is down with steam suppliedv at 9 or 10 and the water gas led to wash box 5.

The water gasvrun may then be followed by a step of oil admission and oil gas reforming, and the described cycle of operations repeated.

Instead'of admitting steam with the air blast, and burning the resultant water gas with the blast gases, a portion of the water gas produced by the passage of steam alone through the fuel bed, may be burned in the vessels 2 and 3 with air admitted at 20. This step may either precede or follow the production of water gas which is passed tothe wash boxes and to storage. For this step, valves l2 and 22 are open, valve 14 closed, and valves 16, 18 and 24 either open or closed.

By either of the alternate methods above described, the operations may be balanced so that a low gravity gas may be produced efiiciently. I'he proper temperatures maybe secured in thel fuel bed and in the vessels 1 and 2, the excess carbon deposited in the fuel bed in the reforming of the oil gas may be progressively consumed and the fuel bed maintained in a free and open condition.

I claim:

1. In the process of manufacturing a mixture of water gas and oil gas of low specific gravity by generating water gas in an incandescent fuel bed by alternate air and steam blasting and by generating oil vapor by means of stored heat of combustion of the air blast gases and by cracking voil vapor so produced by passage through the .incandescent fuel bed, the improvement which consists in:` burning some of the water gas, necessarily generated, to control the temperature of the fuel bed and storing its heat of combustion; and vaporizing an increased quantity of oil by said i stored heat and cracking oil vapors so produced by passing them through the incandescent fuel bed to produce reformed gas of lower specific gravity 'than the blue water gas consumed, thereby lowering the specific gravity of the produced mixed gas by substitution of said reformed gas for said water gas. v

2. In the process of manufacturing a mixture of water gas and oil gas of low specific gravity by generating water gas in an incandescent fuel bed by alternate airand steam blasting and by generating oil vapor by means of stored heat of combustion of the air blast gases and by cracking oil vapor so produced by passage through the incandescent fuel bed, the improvement which consists in: reducing the specific gravity of the mixed gas by burning some of thewater gas, necessarily generated, to consume carbon deposited on the fuel bed from the cracking of the oil vapor and.

to control the fuel bed temperature, and storing the heat of its combustion; and vaporizing an 

